Nicky Butt admits Rasmus Hojlund's lack of Premier League experience would be a concern for Manchester United but has backed the club's recruitment team to get it right.
United have stepped up their pursuit of Hojlund in recent weeks, with Erik ten Hag identifying the 20-year-old as his preferred option after moving away from Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen. Football director John Murtough is holding extensive talks with Atalanta as he aims to get a deal over the line swiftly.
The Italian side are said to want €100million (£85.39m) for the Denmark international, although the agreed upon fee will likely lie somewhere between that and €50million. A record of 10 goals in 34 club appearances across all competitions last season suggests there is plenty of potential, with six goals from five Denmark appearances proof of his quality.
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However the leap from Serie A to Premier League is a big one, especially for someone so young, and Butt believes it would be a 'gamble' to invest so heavily in Hojlund.
"He's a good young player," Butt told Sky Sports. "The recruitment team at Man Utd are obviously looking all over the world for these kinds of players because they are hard to find.
"Harry Kane has been mentioned for so many years in a row but that seems to have been pushed to the side. Whoever they buy has to fit into the squad, age-wise they have to be the right age to get some value on them when they leave the football club. You can't keep buying players for big money and having no return.
"He seems like the right fit but it's a gamble when you buy someone from a different league. He's never played in our league and you don't know what it's going to be like when he comes here.
"But you can only rely on recruitment. You're ultimately as good as your recruitment team so we’ll see how that pans out."
